Multinational companies are fighting their way to Jiangsu's Kunshan city for the China Import Expo which kicks off today.

The 2014 expo promises to be bigger and better than the past two editions of the show.

This year the exhibition and negotiation area covers 80,000 square meters, 30 percent larger than the previous event.

The expo is divided into designated parts to showcase metal processing and automation, new materials for environment protection and consumer brand products.

Nearly 700 international companies from more than 40 countries and regions worldwide have confirmed their attendance at the expo, which will be held from May 14 to 17.

Visitors will get first hand experience of cutting-edge machine manufacturing including a digitally controlled lathe, robots and mechanical arms.

"Some major former participants also attended the expo, such as Japan-based Okuma and Mitsubishi and US-based Haas Automation," said officials from the expo organizing committee.

The expo has played an important role in China's sales of Haas, a leading global lathe producer, who attended the previous two events.

"Haas only made 10 million yuan ($1.63 million) in Kunshan in 2011, then 36 million yuan in 2012 and 120 million yuan in 2013, thanks to its participation in the import expo," said Wang Jianhua, vice-general manager of the company, which booked 20 booths this year.

"The import expo will help Chinese companies get to know the best producers and technology abroad, boost their product quality and added value and offer optimal technical resources for China's industrial restructuring and company transformation and upgrade," said Ma Haining, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's Jiangsu branch.

Governments from nine countries, including Spain, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Scotland, accepted Jiangsu's invitation to bring local companies to the expo.

Ten cities that have friendly ties with Jiangsu will set up 20 booths in a 200 square meter area of the expo.

Business associations from Japan, the ROK and Australia have also shown interest in the event, according to the organizing committee.

"We are confident that the expo will scale up to 200,000 square meters by 2017," said an official.

A delegation from Malmo in Sweden was invited to showcase the city's transformation from a heavily polluted industrial hub into a UN-appointed urban sustainable development model at the expo's environmentally friendly material zone.

"We introduced the city to the expo to hammer home the importance of environment protection and help China learn about advanced ideas and methods in urban sustainable development," said an organizing committee official.

Air filtering technology and equipment and bio-method water treatment solutions will also be on display.

Camfil Farr, a 51-year-old air purification company, will bring its air solutions in pharmaceutical, food, communications and nuclear fields to the expo, as well as its expertise in analyzing air particles.

A total of 23 companies from Finland that specialize in clean energy usage will introduce their solutions and new products at the expo.

Visitors will get to see a bio-method water purification stone containing microorganisms that break down pollution in action.

This year the expo will highlight three-dimensional printing technology.

"Without any cutters or moulds, samples and models of new products with complex structures such as portraits, jewelry, artificial bones and model aircrafts can be created," said He Zhongyun, vice director of a 3D printing research institute in Nanjing.

Expected to change the world, 3D printing technology has already helped in aerospace, bio-medicine, national defense, food and cultural creativity fields, according to He.

Audiences will be able to see 3D printing equipment up close and watch the process of creation of things such as scaled-down versions of three-dimensional human statues and high-heeled designer shoes, according to the organizing committee.

As China starts its second-child policy, mother and baby products will also fight for attention in the consumer products zone.

More than 200 baby products including strollers, bicycles and paper diapers have been improved by technical innovations.

Highlights include the world's smallest baby stroller, which weighs 2.9 kilograms and can be folded away to the same size as a laptop, according to the organizing committee.

Goodbaby Group, a Chinese baby product company, will showcase their latest child safety seat, which was created with the help of more than 3,000 experts from around the world and passed 5,000 collision tests with flying colors.

The expo will also serve up food and wine for visitors.

Reunion Island of France will showcase its best resources including chocolates made from fruits, spices, tropical fruit jam and mixed-flavored alcohols.

Local musicians from Reunion Island will perform live and help visitors better understand the island culture, according to the organizing committee.

yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn